On his road back to a title, Henderson wins at UFC 129

One kick changed everything for Ben Henderson. At WEC 53 in December, the former WEC lightweight champion was two minutes away from potentially locking up a shot against UFC champ Frank Edgar. Anthony Pettis landed his "Showtime Kick" and stole the fight. As a result, Henderson became a small fish in a huge pond awaiting his debut in the UFC.

Tonight, Henderson made a statement by dominating Mark Bocek over 15 minutes to take a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three cards, in the pay-per-view opener of UFC 129.

Bocek (9-4, 5-4 UFC) has a sterling reputation as a ground fighter, but Henderson chose to clinch with him often. Sure the fight went the ground a few times with Bocek on top, but Henderson stayed away from danger against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

When it was on the feet, Henderson (13-2, 1-0 UFC) was a class above Bocek. The American was very effective using a thai clinch along the cage. At times, he brutalized Bocek to the body. He also mixed in some nasty elbows and punches. An elbow towards the end of the second on the top of Bocek's head busted him open.

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What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

Deep into season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Team Lesnar is coping with a loss and suspicious of one of their own. Who will Brock yell at? Who has the disgusting injury of the week? Will the fighters tell ghost stories around the campfire? Read on for spoilers and a fight recap.

Overreaction of the week: After Charlie Rader's loss, Lesnar rips his team. Len Bentley is not happy with having to sit through this, since he "fought his heart out and is not going to get punked." That's fine, Len. You keep it real. Just remember that sometimes, keepin' it real can go wrong. It seems that Len still has some abandonment issues, complaining that Brock wasn't even THERE for his fight. Lesnar just wants one of his three remaining fighters to give it their all.

"I want somebody to wow me," Lesnar says. "Who is it gonna be?"

Not getting it of the week: Back at the house, Bentley says that he doesn't fight to "wow" Lesnar. Well, that's short-sighted, considering he lost his first fight and a wildcard berth is up for grabs. If Lesnar isn't wowed, he won't likely fight for that fighter's second chance.

Fight pick of the week: Mick Bowman (Team dos Santos) vs. Clay Harvison (Lesnar)

Overstepping ... again of the week: Lew Polley is pissing off dos Santos again, because his only job is to teach wrestling, but Lew tries to teach every discipline. This isn't going to end well.

Paranoia of the week: Harvison is positive that Chris Cope is working as a double agent for Team dos Santos. He doesn't like the way Cope stares at him during mitt practice. Harvison says that Cope's double-agency is "ground for an [expletive]-whooping." He's dangerous. He's been known to break the law. He wears his sunglasses backwards. He's ... Clay Harvison.

Someone writes, "Chris Cope Double Agent," into the sand in the zen room -- seriously -- and Cope confronts it like an adult. He tells the team, over S'mores, that he isn't a double agent. His team believes him ... until they get back to their rooms and call him a compulsive liar. They say Team dos Santos wrote it. Cope says Tony Ferguson wrote it. They yell. Sigh.

Memorial of the week: Harvison has an elaborate tattoo on his torso. It's in honor of his brother, as the ink was injected with his brother's ashes.

J'Accuse! Of the week: Mick is the culprit behind the sand writings. He did it "for a bit of fun," and the over-sensitive Lesnarians took it seriously.

Fight of the week: Bowman (dos Santos) vs. Harvison (Lesnar)

Round 1: Mick shoots in for a takedown but misses badly and ends up on his back. Harvison lands strikes from above, avoiding Bowman's flurry of upkicks. Harvison lets Bowman stand up, and uses the opportunity to work Bowman into the cage. Bowman throws knees and punches to the body, then gets the better of striking for the remaining 40 seconds of the round.

Round 2: Harvison starts strong, pushing Bowman back with kicks and knees until they are clinched against the cage again. Bowman pushes Harvison off of him, and starts throwing low kicks. He pushes forward, landing strikes and kicks. He takes a few shots to the legs, too, but doesn't seem bothered. As dos Santos yells, "GO!" Bowman shoots for a takedown, but ends up getting pushed against the catch for the final seconds of the round.

To Dana White's surprise, the fight goes to a decision after two round. Harvison wins 20-18 on all three judges' cards.

Lesnar is happy, because he was wowed, and his entertainment is all that matters. The bad news is that Harvison's sustained a compound -- read: bone sticking out -- fracture of his finger. White says, "He's out. It's sticking out? He's out."

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Manny Pacquiao Dominates Shane Mosley

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Manny Pacquiao showed once again why he's the biggest attraction in boxing, dominating Shane Mosley on Saturday night to win a one-sided unanimous decision in the biggest fight of the year.

Although Mosley came out fighting hard with a good first round, it was all Pacquiao from there on. Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third and dominated the fight throughout. Technically Mosley knocked Pacquiao down in the 10th round, but in reality Pacquiao fell when Mosley tripped him, and the referee made a mistake in calling it a knockdown. In reality, Mosley never had Pacquiao in any trouble, at any point in the fight.

All three judges awarded it to Pacquiao by lopsided scores: 119-108, 120-108 and 120-107. According to the pay-per-view broadcast, Pacquiao landed exactly 100 more punches than Mosley did (182 to 82) and threw more than twice as many punches (552 to 260).

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Biaggi Breaks WSBK Top Speed Record at Monza


Though provisional pole went to Leon Haslam in Friday afternoon’s World Superbike qualifying practice at Monza, reigning World Champion Max Biaggi made headlines of his own by breaking the WSBK top speed record. Despite this feat, Haslam outqualified the Italian at home by just 0.019s in a final lap dash, with Eugene Laverty and Ayrton Badovini completing the provisional front row for Yamaha and BMW Motorrad Italia. Though there will be another qualifying practice Saturday ...

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Pacquiao vs. Mosley: Why MMA Fans Should Care

by Michael David SmithManny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley will fight Saturday night in Las Vegas.We'll have full results and live round-by-round scoring for Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley on Saturday night, which may lead to a few readers wondering, What's boxing news doing on an MMA site? Here are five reasons why you, if you're an MMA fan, should care about Pacquiao vs. Mosley:

1. It's the biggest combat sports event of the year.
For as much as the UFC has gained on -- and in some respects surpassed -- the popularity of boxing, the biggest fights in boxing still exceed the biggest fights in the UFC in terms of pay-per-view buys and worldwide media attention. Although the MGM Grand in Las Vegas obviously won't attract nearly as many fans as the 55,000 who came out to see Georges St. Pierre in Toronto, Pacquiao vs. Mosley will surely get more pay-per-view buys in the United States, far more mainstream media attention and far more attention globally, as Pacquiao is a draw throughout Asia and the single biggest celebrity in the Philippines, a country of nearly 100 million people. This is a major worldwide sporting event.

 

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Now you can apply online to fight in the UFC

Like many companies, the UFC has turned to an online hiring system. Job applicants are asked to submit their resumes online for jobs in marketing, operations and fighting. Wait, really?

Yep. You can apply to be a fighter through its online system. Fill out its application with your details, your manager's details, your weight class and your online fighting profile -- through sites like Sherdog or Wikipedia -- and verify that you have at least five professional fights, and voila! You're in its system. Fighters will be evaluated and hired on a rolling basis.

If you don't want to be a fighter, you can still have fun commenting on the people who are putting their dreams on the line. Yes, every fighter-wannabe's profile is viewable, and even has a comment board.

Though this seems like a publicity stunt for the UFC -- and it may be -- it could still also find some talent that may have slipped through the cracks. They can also see if a fighter is popular enough to sell tickets before they ever offer a contract.

Would you apply? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Thanks to Bloody Elbow

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The secrets behind GSP’s weight-cutting (and gaining) success

Mystery surrounds elite fighters and their ability to cut weight. How is it possible for Georges St. Pierre to drop 25 pounds by Friday afternoon before his fight with Jake Shields but gain most of it back and be full-strength by fight time on Saturday night?

It's no guessing game. Smart fighters treat nutrition as a science, carefully regulating their diet before fights. GSP's main trainer Firas Zahabi talked about what the UFC welterweight champ does to ensure a healthy weight cut.

Now he's on a protein and vegetable diet. Right now his exercise is significantly cut, but he's going to shed water. It's only temporary weight loss. It's not real weight loss. You're not dropping fat. (The final weight-cut) lasts about six days . . . By Friday he'll have six or seven pounds left and we'll put him in the sauna. I don't recommend this to anybody, even professional athletes. This is somebody who's very seasoned.

After GSP steps on the scale on Friday afternoon and weighs in at 170 lbs., his team will give him a carbohydrate-laden recovery drink. Then, he will eat normally and drink water to rehydrate. He'll weigh around 192 lbs. by the time he steps in the Octagon with Shields on Saturday night for UFC 129.

Some fighters start their eating plan months in advance. Mike Dolce, a nutritionist and former contestant on "The Ultimate Fighter," works with fighters to ensure a complete eating plan that helps fighters cut weight without the sauna. Like Zahabi, Dolce does not recommend sauna use.

"The guys who use the sauna to cut ten or twelve pounds, you're forcing your body to expel so much water so quickly that it's not discerning what water is safe to cut from the system and what water isn't. It's just taking it from wherever, and it becomes dangerous. That's where you see guys who don't recover from their weight cut. They look sluggish in their fight, and they defeat the whole purpose of all the training and the conditioning from their fight camp."

A recent study on wrestlers found that severe weight cuts could hurt their mental abilities in a match. Without using proper methods, fighters can find themselves in bad shape for their bouts.

Thanks to The Eh Game

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